Matthew is a retired Army sergeant injured serving in Afghanistan in 2010. He has three children who go to the EVCA, one in 5th, one in 9th, and another in 10th grade. He has a BS in Digital Cinematography from Full Sail University. He likes to spend time volunteering his cinematography skills to local events and with his church. He is looking forward to working with the staff to make this a great year for EVCA.

Mrs. Hernandez has been a medical assistant since 2013, working at various local clinics. She decided to switch to being a health assistant for a change of pace. Mrs. Hernandez has three children enrolled in EVCA and will credit the school when strangers have commented on how well behaved they are. She has been a resident of Edgewood for 6 years. She loves to read, crochet and spend time with her family in her free time. Mrs. Hernandez is excited to be a part of EVCA!

Mr. Homistek hails from Uniontown, Pennsylvania where he graduated cume laude with a BS in Secondary Education-Social Sciences from California University of PA in 2002. After teaching high school and serving as a football coach in Pennsylvania and Maryland, Mr. Homistek arrived in New Mexico in 2006. In an unexpected profession calling as an instructional leader, Mr. Homistek pursued a Master’s of Arts Degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment from Walden University. Upon being asked to lead the school, Mr. Homistek earned his Education Administration certification at Eastern New Mexico University. Mr. Homistek enjoyed working as a K=12 school leader in APS,  as the principal of Ernie Pyle Middle School, and later Albuquerque High School. It has been a vocation teaching and leading in charter and comprehensive public schools for the last 21 years. Mr. Homistek is excited to be a new resident  in the East Mountains with his wife Kelley and 12, 13, and 17 year old kids. In his spare time, Mr. Homistek enjoys engaging in church activities, exercising, watching the Steelers and Penguins, dabbling in brewing, and raising chickens. He is very proud to join EVCA as the Director of Upper School.

Ms. Jansson is pleased to bring content rich instruction to her first graders. She earned her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of New Mexico. Prior to that Ms. Jansson was a physical therapist technician, dental assistant, and a stay-at-home mom. She has three grown daughters, and a teenage son. Currently, she is in the second year of the LETRS course, which is a professional development that empowers teachers to understand scientifically based reading instruction. Ms. Jansson’s passions are serving others, DIY projects, and teaching. She spends her time with her family, studying the Bible, reading, journaling, camping, completing puzzles and attending church.

Kerry Jenkins grew up in a military family, spending much of her youth in Hawai’i. Her parents retired in coastal Virginia where she went to high school and enjoyed the treasures of Jamestown, Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg and Fort Monroe. She attended college at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and received her B.S. in Foreign Service. After studying for one year at the University of Madrid in Spain, Kerry travelled through Europe doing volunteer work in Youth Camps. She then attended Old Dominion University in Virginia and received her M.A. in English. Kerry moved to northern California where she taught English as a Second Language for nine years at Mission College and other adult language centers. In 2002 she relocated to Hilo, Hawai’i and taught English as a Second Language at Hawai’i Community College. In 2003 Kerry and her husband moved to Tijeras. She taught English as a Second Language to adults at Catholic Charities in Albuquerque for 14 years before joining EVCA.

Mrs. Kraus has been with EVCA in one capacity or another since 2016. Among the many hats she wears, she is delighted to be currently serving as the District Test Coordinator, Dual Credit Coordinator, and Student Success Advisor.  Mrs. Kraus has a bachelor’s degree in office administration and a minor in English.  She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Academic Counseling at West Texas A&M.  In addition to her office tasks, Mrs. Kraus loves serving as the Student Government staff advisor, a position she has enjoyed since the 2018 school year. She and her husband have lived in Edgewood for 19 of their 25 years of marriage. The Kraus family has 5 amazing kids, all of whom have attended EVCA.

Dr. Gerard Lavin, who taught at EVCA for the 2014-2015 school year, is returning after completing his PhD in British and Irish Literary Studies at the University of New Mexico, with a focus on the interactions between textual and oral cultures in the Middle Ages.  His dissertation examined the uses of oral rhetoric in the works of the Venerable Bede. He also holds an MFA in Theatre from Michigan State University and a BA in English from the University of Notre Dame. He has taught courses in literature, writing, and drama at a variety of universities and high schools.

Mrs. Littlefield was born and raised in Meridian, Idaho, the last of eight children.  She graduated with honors from Meridian High School and went on to Ricks College (now known as BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho.  Before she could finish, she had the great opportunity to become a wife and mother. She and her husband have been married for thirty-six years and are the parents of five children and six grandchildren.  Her youngest daughter graduated from EVCA in 2018.  Mrs. Littlefield has always loved to volunteer, including being a Girl Scout Brownie and Junior Leader for her daughters and on the parent committee and a Merit Badge Counselor for Boy Scouts for her sons. When her daughter started at EVCA she also began to volunteer on the Special Events Committee and has been overseeing the Renaissance Fair for the last four years.  She volunteered to tutor students in reading, which lead to getting her substitute license.  With encouragement from the Special Education department, Mrs. Littlefield applied for her EA license and has been working with SPED students for two years.  She thoroughly enjoys working with students one-on-one to help them achieve their greatest potential.  She has decided to pursue a teaching degree as a Secondary English teacher and is currently enrolled at CNM. When she is not at the school or in front of her computer doing homework, you will find her teaching piano lessons or in her garden growing fruits and vegetables.  She also loves to preserve (or can) that produce, knit, crochet, quilt, sew, embroider, scrapbook, do genealogy work, and best of all, skype with her grandchildren.

Mariaelena Lovato is joining our EVCA family this year as an Educational assistant. She attended Central New Mexico Community College and graduated with honors. She received her associate degree in Liberal Arts in 2009. Mariaelena was proudly raised in the East Mountains with strong values in faith and family. She married her high school sweetheart and has two beautiful daughters who attend EVCA.  Being able to work alongside her children is a dream come true. As a family, they love spending time camping, hunting, fishing and swimming.